Well to be honest, I'm not really sure that I did much of anything with intent as far as self-esteem and assertiveness go. I mostly focused on making sure that I knew how to enjoy my own company without having to rely on a partner to make me happy or fill my days. Do you have any tips on what I can ...

Thank you again!! Actually, up until this recent incident, I have been single and have abstained from all sexual activity, starting from September of 2013! I was quite proud of myself for going a year without these things, as beforehand I was almost constantly in a relationship. I think the year of ...

Thanks for all the help!! Heather, to answer your question: I don't know why I don't get angry, exactly. I mean I'm sure there's some underlying anger there, but usually for me, I don't express anger very much. Not that I don't do it, it just doesn't come very naturally to me. I don't know for sure,...

Thank you both so much for the resources and for continuing to help me with this! To answer your questions: In the past, I was definitely a person who found it incredibly difficult to say "no." I am a people-pleaser by nature, and I do not like disappointing others, especially my family, f...

Hey guys! I had another question (this is unrelated to my other topic). I noticed today that my breasts have been feeling a little bit tender. It is normal for me to experience this if I am close to getting my period, but I am not expecting it for another week and a half to two weeks. What are some ...

Hi Heather! Sorry for my delayed reply, I was away on a short family trip. My past experiences with consent have been really muddled unfortunately. :( The first boyfriend I ever had touched my breasts without my explicit permission to do so. I was 14 at the time, and for whatever reason, it didn't r...

Thanks for your reply! I feel like I have a hard time saying "no" out loud when I don't want to do something, so that's one part of the problem. The other part of the problem is that, in my experience, most of the boys I've been intimate with, when I've expressed feeling uncomfortable doin...

Thanks for your reply. I actually did wash my hands when I got home (I didn't have any hand sanitizer with me in my car). But thanks for clarifying that there wasn't a risk there. I understand that I did not handle this in as thoughtful a way as I could have done, and I appreciate the advice I got e...

Wow I didn't know that sperm were that delicate! Just to make sure I understand, you're saying that even moving a hand that has fresh semen on it can do damage to the sperm cells inside? I'm asking because after I gave my partner manual sex and he ejaculated, I know I wiped my hand off kinda quickly...

Thanks for the reply!

Also, I'm not sure if this was in the article about sperm cells, but how long can the sperm from fresh semen survive outside of the penis or vagina? Can they survive for long on a hand?

Thank you for the article! I was just looking at some pregnancy tests at the grocery store, but they all say the earliest you can test is 4 days before your next period. I've read on the message boards here that you can test as early as two weeks or even ten days after the risk occurred. Can I still...

Yes, that would be awesome! I made this choice in the heat of the moment which was not very smart. Any tips on how to avoid making rash decisions in the future?

Also, do you have any recommendations as far as which pregnancy tests are the most reliable?

Thanks again for your reply! Yes, these questions are in reference to my own choices. I got carried away this past weekend and engaged in manual sex with a guy as well as dry sex. I guess I was concerned that he may have touched himself and then touched me, but it seems like this doesn't cause a ris...

Thanks for your reply! And thank you for the article on hand-washing, I found that really helpful :) I also wanted to ask another question about pre-ejaculate: how likely is it to contain sperm? I've heard it usually doesn't but that it can in some cases. Also, in the article about pregnancy scares,...

Hi Scarleteen, I'm leelee :) this is my first time on these message boards. I wanted to ask a question regarding manual sex and pregnancy risk. I read in one of your articles that transferring semen from the penis to a hand to a vagina poses a highly unlikely risk of pregnancy. I wanted to ask, does...